One of Maler's employees said the Huntsville location would remain open until it runs out of food.

The employee, who did not want to be identified, was using a truck to remove items from the Conroe and Cleveland locations to move to Huntsville.

If the Huntsville Golden Corral closes, the company also would attempt to take control of that location, Bell said.

The closings are strictly a financial matter for the owner; the Conroe location always has been a good operation, Bell said. He said he has not been told whether the Huntsville restaurant will close.

Golden Corral already is talking to another franchisee about taking over Maler's locations.

"The key is how fast we can get control."

If Maler is agreeable to giving the company control of the franchises, the transition will be quicker, Bell said. It will take longer if the company has to resort to legal means to take control.

"Our goal is to get it open quickly enough so the employees can get back to work," he said.

The new franchise owner will be responsible for hiring employees, Bell said.

"But the (current) employees will be given a chance to work for the new owner," he said.

The employees at Maler's locations were employees of his and not of Golden Corral, Bell said. Bell could not say for certain whether employees would receive their final paycheck or be paid for vacation time owed to them.

"We hope that he (Maler) would honor these things," Bell said.

One of the employees said they were supposed to receive their final check Friday.

"I don't think we'll even get them," the employee, who did not wish to be identified, said. "And if we do, I don't think the checks will be any good."

The employees were told they have lost all their vacation time, she said.

Maler has not returned repeated phone calls from The Courier. Bell said Maler also has not responded to calls from the company.

According to federal bankruptcy records, Maler had not filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States as of Wednesday.